Separator.



W. HJRIGE.

SBPARATOR.

APPLI 0ATION FILED FEB. 23, 1909.

946,518. Patented Jan. 11,1910.

wanes To allruiltoinnit may concern:

SEPARATOR.

f Specification of Letters Patent.

Original application filed December 26, 1905, Serial No. 293,167. Divided and this application filed ,February 23, 1909.

Be it known-that I, \VILLIaM H. Bron, of Rochester, in the county .of Monroe. and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in .Separators; and I {do hereby declare the following to be afiull, clear, and exact description of thesainqreference being had to the accomvpanying drawin s, forming a part of this an application 1905, Serial No. .'293,167 3 for improvements 'in otato diggers.

speification, an to the reference-numerals iv .f-niarked thereom Thepresent invention relates to separators and particularly to that type in which there is employed. a movable endless separatin element ,having separating openings therein this application being a: CllVlSlOIl of led by me on December 20,

he invent on has for an objeetto provide anagitat'or, which will. act upon material supported on the separator in such a manner that efiective separation is obtained.

Tothese and other ends the invention consists in certain improvements and com- .bin ations of parts all'as will be hereinafter I more fully described, the novel,- features being pointed out in the claims at the end In the drawings Figure l is a top view of a portion of a otato digger in which the invention is em odied', and Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section of the same machine.

Referring more particularly to the drawings 1 indicates an axle on the ends of which is ournaled a'pairof ground wheels 2. lietween the wheels is arranged the frame of a machine referably embodying side pieces Bsup orted on the axle 1 andconnectcd at their ower ends by an excavator or tool l. Operating between the side pieces is the separating element which is in the form of an endless carrier preferabl receiving material from the excavator or tool 4 and being guided in proximity to the rear .ends{ of the latter by any suitable means such as ullcys 5. This separating element is moved )y' any sprocket wheels 6 arranged on a shaft 7 1n t e rear end of the axle, and driven by the ground wheels through the medium 0 pinions 9- and gears 10..

The separating element preferably com ars 11 connected at their outer ends by Serial No. 479,619.

extending" separating openings Of tll1lf0lIIl width through which the fine dirt or other material may be discharged. v

PATENT OFFICE. 7 :WILLIAM mnrcn; or nocrins'rnn, iIEW YaRK i r Patented J an. 11, 1910.

the bars provide between them transversely In order to. agitate the material the a separating element there maybe provided an agitator in the form of a hollow drum or roller .13 rotatably mounted on theaxle'l gations or projections adapted to I pass through theslots or-openings in the sepa; rating element and displace the material on the latter. This arrangement causes the material on all portions of the separating element to be engaged and ,at' the same time the agitator is drivenby the engagement; of the walls of the slots or openings with the pre jcctions, thus insuring a positive drive and other agitator: ll of smaller diameter turns upon a rod 15 connecting the side pieces ata point nearer to the excavator than the. agitator 13. It will be noted that theagii tators also serve as supports for the sepai rating element intermediate of the support- 1 ing pulleys 5'and the supporting and driving sprockets 6. a

It is desirable to prevent stones, hard lumps or other material on the separating element entering between the latter and the driving sprockets and thus interfering with the action of the latter. To thisendthere may be employed for each sprocket a means whieh deflects the material on the belt away from thesprocket. In this instance a shield or guard has a portion 2a secured to a side 3, extended inwardly at 25 about aportion of the periphery of the sprocket and thence rearwardly at 16 over the inner face of said sprocket. The upper edge 17 of this shield lies in a plane substantially parallel with the proximate portion of the separating element so that material depending through rator will be engaged first by the portion 25 and deflected inwardly away from the teeth of the sprocket.

When the invention is embodied in a po-' tato digger. the material excavated by the tool 4 travels rearwardly onto the separating element and by the latter is carried rear wardly and upwardly, the finer diiftfpassing and having longitudinally extending corrul dispcnsingwlth extra driving means. l

the openings on the upper lap of the sepasultable means but it is preferred to employ a simple manner without theeniglloyment of and means forjmovmg said as causing it to be dlglaced 'frorn'its position on the separatin ement and the dirt to be broken, the stones or hard lumps remain r ing on the separator vQbein'g deflected away from the driving pulleys by-the' shields or guards. The larger material is discharged at the rear *of the fseparatorin any suitable.

a projections operating in said transversely extendingfopeningssubstantially throughout the-"entire len thsof said openings. 4 Thegcoin ination with an axle having fl wheels thereon, of side pieces carried by the axle, anendless separatmgelement arranged between the side pieces, means guiding the separatingfeleinent in front of the axle, :1 dr vin shaft for the separating element ar-- (fin an agitator manner.

A separator constructed accordanceif' with this invention is: inexpensive to ma'n'ii5v facture. It efiectively separatessmall or- ,fine 1 material from i larger 'inaterial: as all of the I material on the separator {is subjectedto agitation. This'agitation is producedin special driving mechanism for ,"t e agitator, and the driving sprockets are protected against the action of stoneson thev upper or the lower-lap 0f1 the endless separating,

element I clann as my invention:

1. The combination with a separating en-- ment having separating, open ngs therein and meansfor moving said element, of mov-' ably mounted projections operating through the'ppenings from the under side thereof and anged to act on all the material in theopenin 2-. Theeombination with a separating eleme'nt ;having se'parating. o enings .therein v j dlement', 0f '1'i10V-' ably mountedgpro ectwns operating through the openings from the under side-thereof and arranged'ft o act' on all the material'in the openings, said projections being engaged thereby.

3. The combination with element having separating openings therein and means for moving. said elemenqrof movably mounted rojections substantially co extensive in wi th, of openings in the sepa rating element and o crating through said opemn ing separatin openings therein. and means for movm t e separatin element, ofa-ro-.

tatable agitator having ongitudinally 'exrating element having transversely extend- Ji'ange .said'ax'le. I by the separating-element. to be moved to displace t e material therefrom." 4 l e combmationwith an endless sepa-.. rating element having transversely extendrating element, of a rotatable agitator extending substantially from one s1de of the separating element to theother and having I, projections operating through said openings.

The combination-with an endless sepai'ng openings and means for moving the separating elementhavingtransversely extendrearj-of the axle, an rotatable on the axle.

*8. The-combination ,with anfairle having .ing separating openings,and means'for mov- --ing the. separating element, of a rotatable agitator having longitudinally extending.

wheels thereon, or side pieces carried bythe axle, an endless separating element having openings thereinand arranged between the s de'pieces'," means guiding the separating element in;froxit of the axle, a shaft carried inrear oflrthe axle andihaving a .pair of sprocket wheels thereon, and an agitator; ro-' tata'blo-on-the axleancl having,project1 ons operating in theopenings and-g engaged by the walls of the latter to drivethe agitator;

9. Thecombination with an axle and the wheels thereon of an endless separating'eleme'nt' shrroundmg theaxle, supports for the separator in front andin rear of the axle, and an intermediate support rotatable on 10. The combination with a conveyer emsurface} having openings therein, 0 'an agitator having projections operatin I-inthe openings substantially throughout t e width surface.

the'separat' wheels thereon, of an endless conveyer sur rounding, the axle} supports 1 for the: con- ,veyer in frontand in rear. of the axle, an intermediate support for the conveyer supportedbythe axle.

Witnesses: I

RUssaLnB. Gnmrrm, I HAROLD H. S nus.

bodying transversely extending bars, of a ro- 12. The :combination with an aide and WILLIAM RIC-E. a 

